A regular meeting of the Long Island Nassau Chapter, PTG was held on October 11, 2011, at Frank and Camille’s Keyboard Center located on Old Country Road in Carle Place. Ten chapter members and four guests attended.

President Slavin called the meeting to order at 6:36 P.M. New chapter members were welcomed.

The minutes for the September, 2011 meeting were accepted by general consent.

Treasurer Paul Keogler reported on the status of the chapter’s finances.

President Slavin announced that Frank & Camille's would be hosting a Young Chang seminar at their Melville store on Tuesday, October 18.

The business meeting concluded at 6:41 PM and the guest speaker for the evening, Michael Morvan, owner of Blackstone Valley Piano, and an Associate Member of the Boston, MA Chapter, PTG, was introduced. Mr. Morvan talked briefly about his background before starting his presentation about piano keyboard restoration and replacement. He mentioned his training as a machinist and talked about the equipment he uses in his shop for keyboard restoration and for manufacturing new piano and organ keyboards.

• Considerations involved in the restoration or replacement of a piano keyboard
• Piano key rebushing: The use of mortise sizing cauls, selection of bushing cloth, and glue-sizing key mortises
• Use of replacement key-shoes
• Considerations in the replacement of sharps
• Resurfacing old ebony
• Key recovering
• Replacement of key buttons
• Mortise insert installation
• Recovering of backchecks instead of replacement
• Key-pin replacement
• CNC part fabrication and duplication

Samples of different colored key coverings, a sample piano keyboard, and replacement parts were available for examination.

The meeting ended at 7:41 P.M.

• Studied piano at a music conservatory in Europe, throughout my youth.
• Studied physics at New York University and piano technology at the affiliated Manhattan School of Music (1971-73)
• Thoroughly trained in piano technology at Boston's North Bennett Street Industrial School under William Garlick and David Betts (1975-76)
• Certified as an expert piano technician by the Baldwin Piano Company (1976)
• Resident Technician at Third Street Music School (America's oldest)-1976-79 Taught a course in Piano Maintenance to musicians at same institution (1978)
• Musically prepared the Alma Tadema designed Steinway grand piano for auction at Sotheby's, which sold for $400,000.00, highest price ever paid for a piano at an auction (1979)
• Vice President of The Piano Technician's Guild, New York City Chapter (1981-83)
• President of The Piano Technician's Guild, New York City Chapter (1983-1985)
• Opened New York Piano Center, Inc. in Midtown Manhattan (1985-2002)
• Expanded New York Piano Center, Inc. to a 13,000 sq. ft. industrial space in Chelsea, rebuilding pianos for clients ranging from France to Chicago (1992) Exhibited rebuilt pianos at a piano show in Blois, France (1993); In the course of business for over twenty years NY Piano Center, Inc.had specialized in soundboard replacement and became one of the most prominent and reliable piano rebuilders in the U.S. serving needs of some of the finest and most well known piano dealerships such as Jacobs Music of Philadelphia, Artists’ Piano and Pro Piano of NYC, Steinert Piano of Boston, Richmond Piano of Richmond, VA and others.
• Some of my distinguished clients over the years: Gary Graffman, Eugene Istomin, Renata Scotto, Marvin Hamlisch, Diane Sawyer, Eartha Kitt, Linda Lavin, Tovah Feldshuh, The Rainbow Room, Maestro Rescigno, Peter Schaefer, Mary Travers, Lorne Michaels, Ballstate University, Metropolitan Opera, Windows on the World, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Harlem Dance Company, Cooper Union, Carnegie Museum, Cirque du Soleil, Mr. Holland’s Opus, and numerous others.
• Publicized in The New York Times, 1991 and 1992 (Where To Find It), and in New York Magazine May 92 (again New York Magazine 1994); Forbes Magazine Feb.1995; N.Y.Times Jan.1996; Newsday Feb.96 (again New York Magazine 1996); Time Out N.Y. Mar 96; Wall Street Journal and Business Week in 1998 Interviewed by Fox Style News WNYW TV ch5, Eyewitness News WABC ch 7. -December 1995. NY 1 News - Jan.1996 and News 4 New York - NBC Mar 1996; CBS and CNN in 2001.
• Member of Piano Technicians Guild. and American Musical Instruments Society.
• Member of the Appraisers Association of America.
• Featured in a book published in 2004 by Towery Publishing “New York Metropolis of American Dream”.
• Lectured at Piano Technicians Guild in Philadelphia in 2006 and NYC in 2007.
• Worked closely with NYC Bechstein dealership throughout 2008 servicing warranty claims.
• Succesfully completed a 15-hour course and examination on the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP), the Congressionally recognized set of appraisal standards promulgated by The Appraisal Foundation: completed on March 9th, 2011, effective til March 9th, 2016